The Boundaries of Desire: A Century of Good Sex, Bad Laws, and Changing Identities

We rated this book:

$26.00


The United States has always been bipolar about sexuality. Whether it’s the Madonna/whore complex foisted upon women or men “owning” women through marriage, the horrors that accompany reporting and prosecuting a rape or the question marks that lurk within our legal system today, there are so many facets of sexuality and legality that deserve a deeper, more thoughtful look.

The Boundaries of Desire undertakes an impossible task — studying the inconsistencies in sexual and marital laws over the last hundred years — and trying to make sense of it all. And Berkowitz is damned convincing in his arguments, both in terms of detail and analysis.

I won’t lie to you. This is a book filled with infuriating unfairness and outright horrors. Eugenics, homophobia, rape, misogyny, child abuse… all of these troubling subjects and more are covered here. But don’t turn away. The only way to prevent repeating the mistakes of the past is to take a hard look at them.

At a time when women’s rights continue to be under siege by conservative politicians, it’s worth your time to take a look back and see not only how far we’ve come, but how far we still have yet to go.


Reviewed By:

Author Eric Berkowitz
Star Count 4/5
Format Hard
Page Count 468 pages
Publisher Counterpoint
Publish Date 2015-Aug-11
ISBN 9781619025295
Amazon Buy this Book
Issue October 2015
Category History
Share

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “The Boundaries of Desire: A Century of Good Sex, Bad Laws, and Changing Identities”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.